Samurai Ghest
by Leanbow
Summary: Due to a teleportation mishap, the hero called Ghest has returned to the Power Rangers world for a new team-up adventure with the Samurai Rangers. Will he make it back home in one piece?
1. Chapter 1

Power Rangers Super Samurai is owned by Saban and Nickelodeon, and Ghest (first seen in my fanfiction story Ranger Ghest) and other Morphozoid characters are created by me. This story takes place in normal Super Samurai continuity, after Serrator's death but before Lauren arrived. This story is meant as a follow-up to Ranger Ghest, even though the crossover idea may seem similar to the Clash of the Red Rangers TV movie. Look up Ranger Ghest, and you'll see it was written first. And if you haven't read it yet, Ghest is pronounced "Geest" and his first name Fries is "Frees".

Our story begins on Vancouver Island in Western Canada, on another world.

"Everybody down on the ground! Open up all the money-storing machines, and don't get in our way!"

A large warehouse department store is being robbed by the super-powered fugitives known as Bonecrusher and Sidewinder. They move from one checkout station to another, holding up the cash register upside down and dumping the money into their large sacks. Like I said, this is another world. A world without Power Rangers. But not without heroes.

The pair get hit suddenly by a shower of energy blasts from above. The innocent store shoppers and employees take advantage of the distraction to move toward the exits. Sidewinder drops the sack of money and looks up at the source.

"It's Ghest and Angel" Sidewinder shouts to his companion. "Now what do we do?"

"Don't get soft on me" she responds. "They haven't even begun to see my strength. I'll crush them both, and you get away with the money."

"Good idea" Sidewinder answers, before taking off, on foot, to the opposite end of the store.

"Idiot!" Bonecrusher calls after him. 'I didn't say get away with the money yet!"

The female in golden armour rolls her eyes (through her helmet) at the man in orange wearing the black helmet and the golden chest plate displaying a carved letter G.

"Looks like we know who wears the pants in their relationship" Angel jokes.

"No kidding. You go pick him off, and I'll deal with miss sunshine here."

Angel flies on ahead using the very wings of her namesake as Ghest hovers down to circle Bonecrusher. She throws one of the cash registers at him, but he fires a heat blast from his hand to intercept it and swoops in further. Bonecrusher then rips out the sign post next to the checkout desk and swings it around like a bat. Ghest is too close now to change direction, so he brings his arms forward on instinct to take the hit. He pushes the sign post forward, and in the brief instance it hangs in the air, speaks the words "Blades of fury". Ghest uses this verbal command to mentally control the decorative spikes on his suit's gloves, shifting them upwards into offensive blades. He slices the post to pieces and hovers backwards, releasing more heat blasts at Bonecrusher. She is inconvenienced, but her hide is tough enough to withstand serious harm. Sidewinder looks over his shoulder and stops running when he doesn't see Angel in pursuit. Suddenly, he is being lifted into the air from behind. He drops the sack of money.

"The cash! What are you doing here?" Sidewinder shouts in panic.

"Were you expecting me to carry you with my feet?" Angel replies. "The name's Angel, not Bird."

Close by:

"I am stronger than you!" Bonecrusher shrieks as she throws a punch at Ghest.

He catches her arm and holds it still. "Are you? Perhaps. But I have other talents. Like speed."

He drags her by the arm into the air. "And flight. Now here's where we part ways."

He throws her forward in the air. Angel flies Sidewinder closer to their starting point, and releases him from her grip. The two criminals collide with each other, and drop to the ground. Bonecrusher is knocked out completely, but Sidewinder is awake enough to release a metal coil from his wrist in the direction of the fallen money. Ghest sees this and races the coil to retrieve the money himself. He flies fast enough to intercept the coil with a heat blast. All taken care of, until he notices that Sidewinder's other coil from his opposite hand was released and has now wrapped around Ghest's leg.

"Oh no."

Ghest lowers himself to the ground and falls to his knee. The coil is draining the energy from his body, but that isn't the worst of it. The worst is that when Sidewinder uses this trick on someone with superpowers, he also drains them from his victim, and into himself. Before Angel can react Sidewinder catches her off guard with heat blasts, and starts to fly. Ghest uses his remaining strength to pry the coil off of his leg. Without direct contact, the effects will wear off, but not long enough to prevent Sidewinder from escaping. He picks up the sack of money and flies higher until a strange energy discharge sends him back to the ground. Ghest and Angel catch up.

"What's happening to me?" Sidewinder wonders aloud. He turns to Ghest. "What's this stuff doing to me?" More energy erupts from him and he cries out in pain, holding his sides.

"If I would care to guess, I'd say you activated my suit's teleportation powers. It hurts now because you aren't used to it, but soon the energy will form a portal to somewhere else far away. Do exactly as I say, and you'll be fine."

Sidewinder smirks. "Dream on, pal. I'm letting this portal thing come, and take me so far from here you'll never arrest me."

"That's exactly what will happen to you" Ghest explains. "The power you're unleashing could quite possibly send you to another dimension. You could be sent somewhere beyond your scope and imagination. And once your hold on my power wears off, you won't have any way back."

Sidewinder's face turns to a look of fear. "Huh? What do I do?"

"Quickly, you have to concentrate on expelling the energy from your body. You'll be free, and I'll get it back." Ghest gets ready to run as soon as Sidewinder is separate from the energy portal.

"Please be careful, honey" Angel says to him.

"Don't worry, Laura. I have to collect this energy back into my body where it won't cause any harm. No matter where it might send me, I know how to find my way back."

He takes off running and jumps directly into the center of the energy and absorbs it until both it and he disappear into thin air.

When Ghest is next able to gather himself together, he is no longer in costume he is simply wearing the regular street clothes he had on as Fries Mahoghan before being summoned to the department store. He finds himself landed behind a bush in what appears to be an ordinary park.

"All right. Looks like I might not have left my own world after all."

He brushes himself off and explores his surroundings.

"Once I find out for sure where I am, I'll take the quickest way back-"

He is interrupted by the sight of a gang of red skinned and baggy clothes-wearing Moogers, roving around scaring civilians.

"Who are they?"

Two Moogers start to tear the bush apart and get in Fries' face. He pushes them down and gets noticed by the others. Two more approach, and Fries punches them back. Another rushes in to get a hit and Fries flies over his head and lands behind him, kicking him away.

"You guys don't look like robots" Fries rationalizes "but I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm in the world of the Power Rangers again. There's one way to be sure."

His body is enveloped in the costume of Ghest once more. He continues to fight off the Moogers, waiting for someone to call him an "orange ranger", but the Moogers don't speak English or even in actual words. Someone else who does, however, is watching from a nearby tree. This man draped in a white coat is observing this battle while also keeping his focus split to the sword in his hand.

"This one is no ranger" Deker muses, "nor is he Nighlok. He does not belong here."

Unbeknownst to Ghest, some red mist escapes from the edge where the park connects with the sidewalk. It changes into two solid forms while Ghest is still fighting.

"Shouldn't take too much longer to send these guys packing."

"ROOOOOAAAARRR!"

"Roar?"

He turns around to see two Spitfangs, armless Nighlok creatures with huge dinosaur heads. That shoot fireballs.

He braces for the impact of the fireball that has already been fired off in his direction. In an instant, it is struck down by the Red Samurai Ranger's spin sword. As rangers of other colours appear to deal with the remaining Moogers, Ghest extends his hand to the red ranger. He takes it, and shakes his hand.

"I knew I'd run into you guys", Ghest tells him. "Nice new suits, Ranger Red."

The red ranger is puzzled. "Ranger Red? You know Ranger Red?"

"You're not Scott?" Ghest asks him in equal confusion.

"No. I'm the Red Samurai Ranger" he responds.

"Well I'm Ghest, and luckily I've been through this before. Let's finish fighting the bad guys, and then we can get to introductions."

"Agreed."

"I have seen enough for now", Deker decides. "I have no desire to confront the rangers yet again, unless it is the duel that will end my curse. If the Red Ranger is not worthy of defeating me, perhaps this stranger is."

He teleports away.


	2. Chapter 2

Moogers and Spitfangs alone are little challenge for a full team of rangers, and that's not even counting the added strength Ghest brings to the party. The Red Samurai Ranger, Jayden, places a red-coloured disc on the handle of his spin sword.

"Fire Smasher!" He calls out.

The sword transforms into a much larger bladed weapon as the Spitfangs fire another round.

"ROOOOAAAARRRRR!"

"ROOOOOAAAAARRRR!"

Jayden swings the Fire Smasher weapon around to block the fireballs. Ghest hovers over his head and fires some heat blasts of his own. One of them makes direct contact with a spitfang, causing it to explode.

"I got one" Ghest exclaims.

"One down, one to go" Jayden responds. "Canon-blast mode!"

Jayden attaches a white disc to the Fire Smasher and it converts itself into a large blaster. Ghest returns to the ground and helps to carry the large weapon. They aim it at the second Spitfang and destroy it. The blue, green, yellow and pink rangers have dealt with the Moogers and reconvene with Jayden and Ghest.

Ghest turns to face the rangers and turns back into Fries Mahoghan. They're a little stunned by this.

"Great moves out there, you guys", he tells them. "What?" he asks, after noticing the looks of surprise. "Something on my face?"

"Nothing's wrong" Jayden answers. "It's just that when Ranger Red was here, he was concerned our air might be toxic. I guess we're a bit surprised that you're so willing to demorph in front of us like this."

"You're from another world too?" The Green Ranger, named Mike, asks.

"How are Scott and the RPM Rangers doing?" asks the Yellow Ranger, Emily.

"I was hoping you could tell me that, actually." Fries answers. "I thought you would know whether or not they were able to keep Venjix out of Corinth, since you guys are rangers too."

"Corinth?" The Pink Ranger, Mia, repeats. She thinks of recent world history. "The domed city that resisted the robot armies a couple of years ago. Scott and Professor Cog were time-travelers."

"But he told us he was from another dimension" points out the Blue Ranger, Kevin.

"That's probably what Cog led him to believe, and he didn't know the difference" Jayden responds. "In any event, we can say the rangers there eventually succeeded in their mission."

"That's great to hear" Fries says. "And I'm called Ghest. My name is Fries."

The rangers demorph themselves.

"I'm Jayden", says the now more humanized leader of the team. "These are Mike, Mia, Kevin and Emily". He points out the respective ranger as he speaks their name.

"How did you learn to fly like that?" Kevin asks Fries.

"Oh, that's all me. I'm actually a different species of human called Morphozoid. I'm really strong, and I could fly as early as I could walk. The Ghest suit that my uncle passed down to me does the rest, including the travelling to other dimensions."

"Our powers were given to us from our families too" Emily tells him. "Our enemies the Nighlok have been attacking the world for generations."

"It never ends for you Power Rangers, does it?" Fries remarks jokingly. "Well, I'd be delighted to give you a hand before I head back home. If you'll have me aboard."

"Sure, but first we need to figure out what they're up to this time" Jayden begins. "If Master Xandred was ready for battle, the attack would have been much bigger than just a few Moogers and Spitfangs. With Serrator gone, that leaves Dayu and Octaroo in charge."

While the good guys examine their enemies' motives and methods, little do they realize that located in the Netherworld, a junk (that is actually the correct term for this type of pirate-style ship. I looked it up) sails the Sanzu River addressing those concerns. Gazing out at the red waters, Dayu strums the strings of her harmonium instrument.

"Octaroo. Was that meager wave of Moogers and Spitfangs really supposed to spread enough fear throughout the human world to make the river rise?"

Her short, stocky, squid-headed companion walks in and defends himself.

"Ooh, ah, ooh, Dayu, you aren't seeing the big picture. I sent a small attack force to keep the rangers busy, so they won't expect the next part of my plan."

A tall monster looking like a gorilla/wolf/yak hybrid walks in beside Octaroo.

"Dayu, meet Furrnivore" continues Octaroo. "While the rangers are trying to make heads and tails of the first attack, we ambush them with our new monster."

"And what makes you think yet another new monster will destroy them?" questions Dayu.

"Because I take Red Ranger out of fight!" Furrnivore roars with a deep almost Russian accent. "He will not stand sight of me!"

"Now let's go to the human world before we lose our element of surprise" Octaroo tells them.

Back in the park, Fries and the rangers are expecting another attack to happen soon.

"So we're all agreed then", says Jayden.

"Without Xandred, a simple plan like that is the best they can come up with", agrees Mike.

As expected, Octaroo and Dayu teleport in front of them. They'll start by engaging the rangers in battle, then Furrnivore will join in and catch Jayden off guard, however he plans to do that. Dayu pulls out the neck of her harmonium to reveal a sword.

"Ready or not, rangers, here we are!" taunts Octaroo. Tentacles expand quickly from his mouth toward the rangers.

Fries hovers momentarily before swooping down in front of the group. The tentacles wrap around his arms, and he takes to the air once more from a jumping position. He uses his strength to pull Octaroo off of the ground and swing him around.

"Ooh, ah, ooh! Let me down! Please!"

"Anything you say, noodle face."

Fries abruptly lets go, sending Octaroo crashing into some bushes. Dayu runs into battle. The rangers pull out there Samurai morphers and draw their individual Kanji power symbols in the air. They call out "Go Go Samurai!" and the symbols envelope them in their ranger uniforms.

"Cool" remarks Fries. "Let me try that."

In actuality Fries' suit is activated by his thoughts, so he doesn't need to demonstrate elaborate movements like the rangers do to summon their symbol power. But you know what they say about being in Rome. He gestures his right hand pointer finger upward diagonally, before bringing it down the opposite direction. He lowers it in front of himself and then brings it higher to his right. He finishes with a line in the center, with the end result looking like a letter G. It isn't exactly a Japanese Kanji symbol, but it works in this case, and Fries becomes Ghest again.

Dayu moves quickly and blocks Mia and Emily's spin swords with her own. She pushes them back momentarily and strikes them both with her sword. Kevin interjects and tries to land a blow on her, but she dodges him before catching him by surprise with a hit from a small, unseen dagger she carried. As soon as she turned around, Jayden and Mike hit her with their spin sword attacks.

"Blazing Strike!" Jayden shouts. The blade of his spin sword charges up with fire energy.

"Forest Vortex!" Mike shouts. The blade of his spin sword charges up with green coloured energy as leaves swirl in the air.

They strike Dayu simultaneously and she collapses to the ground. Octaroo, free from the bushes, fires some energy blasts their way, but is hit by some of Ghest's heat blasts fired from the air. He lands next to Jayden and Mike, and the other rangers soon join them.

"We're outnumbered", Dayu tells Octaroo. "Summon Furrnivore here, right away.

Behind where the heroes are standing, a portal appears and Furrnivore drops in. They turn around to face him.

"You ready for this party animal?" Furrnivore roars.

Jayden drops his sword to the ground. The rangers expect him to call out a plan of battle, but none comes. Jayden just stands silent and motionless, staring at Furrnivore.

"Jayden, what is it? What's going on?" asks Mia.

Jayden doesn't answer.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note- for this chapter I will be introducing an element of Jayden's past that didn't happen on the show. It's just something I'm adding for the purposes of this story and shouldn't be interpreted as anything else.

Long ago, Jayden's father was the Samurai Red Ranger. When he was a small boy, his father said what would turn out to be his final goodbyes before leading the deciding battle against the Nighlok and their leader Master Xandred. That battle was waged successfully and the red ranger managed to seal the enemy away for more years to come, despite his sacrifice of his own life. Jayden was placed in the care of Mentor Ji, family friend and close ally of the Samurai Rangers, at the Shiba house. There he will be protected from harm and allowed to train himself to carry on the legacy of Red Samurai Ranger should the day come when Nighlok invade Earth again.

"Jayden!" Mentor calls out from the hallway. "Your cocoa is ready."

There is no answer. Mentor knocks on the door again. "Jayden?"

He opens the door to find the bedroom empty, and the window left open.

Young Jayden, at that moment, was already blocks away from the house. Carrying the Lion Foldingzord that his father had given him in his hand, it is clear that he misses him already and wants to help. Perhaps the two of them, as father and son, could defeat Master Xandred together, and afterwards, along with his sister Lauren, remain a family. Jayden keeps heading forwards when he sees the great battle going on, his father and his teammates doing battle with a large group of Moogers and monsters. Jayden is still a safe distance away from being noticed, or so he thinks.

He releases the foldingzord and it shifts from his family's power symbol into a lion. Jayden knows nothing of how to enlarge it to full zord size, but he's content to send it into battle anyway. Suddenly the zord is kicked away by a monster's foot. Jayden looks up to see the Furrnivore leaned forward, arms out front, growling at him.

"Eating little boy will make stronger, then attack on rangers!"

Young Jayden falls to his knees overcome with fear, crying uncontrollably and too scared to move.

"Leave him alone!"

Mentor Ji, dressed in old-fashioned samurai armor, hits Furrnivore away and steps in between the monster and Jayden. The creature, thankfully, thinks better of this and runs away to join the rest of his kind. Mentor Ji then did his best to calm Jayden down and took him home.

In the years to come, Jayden was trained by Mentor to be the next red ranger, and learned to be fearless like his father. When the Nighlok returned, Jayden had fully grown into a formidable samurai leader, considered by his teammates to be unshakable in battle. And now here he is, face to face with the monster that traumatized him as a child. As soon as he saw him, Jayden was taken back to that day in his mind. He isn't sure how to react, and the others are growing concerned.

Back at the Shiba house, Mentor Ji calls the rangers on their phone-like morphers.

"Rangers, the gap sensor shows a monster in the park. Are you still in the area?

"We're still here Mentor" Mia answers. "We met another hero named Ghest. He can fly and teleport.

"Fly and teleport? That's good news", Mentor agrees. "It means I won't have to get a better lock for my motorcycle just yet."

"Mentor, Jayden says he recognizes this monster", Mia continues. "He hasn't given us a plan of attack yet, he's just standing still, staring at him."

"Mia, what does this monster look like?"

"Like a big furry animal, mostly" she responds.

"I think I know what this is about. You and the others can defend Jayden and yourselves for now. He just needs a little time. I'll send Antonio as well."

He hangs up and goes to the living room where Antonio, the Samurai Gold Ranger, is getting his fishing gear ready.

"Antonio, the rangers need you." Mentor explains in a sterner tone. "There's a monster in the park. Hurry."

Sensing the urgency, Antonio asks, "Is it an emergency?"

"It very well could be. Jayden's in trouble."

"I'm on my way". He gets up and takes a few steps forward, before turning back around.

"Mentor, if it's an emergency, I know something that would really get me there in a hurry."

"What?" Mentor asks, hoping that Antonio isn't going to ask for what he thinks he is going to ask for.

"Please can I borrow it?" Antonio pleads, holding his hand forward. "You said it yourself. Jayden's in trouble."

Mentor Ji considers this and, due to the situation, finds it difficult say no.

"Okay. But please be careful with it."

He hands Antonio the keys to his motorcycle. Antonio rejoices and then runs outside. As he walks to the front doorway, Mentor Ji thinks about Jayden's current situation. Jayden was just a little boy the first time he encountered the Furrnivore monster, and that type of trauma can affect anyone strongly when relived. However in his heart he remains confident that Jayden's strong will and survival skills will prevail in the end. Antonio soon comes riding out of the garage on the motorcycle. Swerving slightly from side to side, he loudly proclaims "The golden boy is on his way!" before crashing straight into some of the bushes outside the front gate. Mentor Ji turns around and shakes his head negatively.

Back at the park, Octaroo and Dayu have summoned more Moogers.

"I know we should be waiting for Jayden" Ghest tells the others, "but we won't be able to stop these guys by just standing here. Well, maybe the Moogers. They're pretty easy to beat."

"He's right you guys" Kevin agrees. "That monster could start attacking at any time."

"Enough talk!" Furrnivore interrupts. "I take Red Ranger out of fight! Now your turn!"

He runs toward the other rangers and Ghest, brandishing his claws. The others prepare to fight back, when Furrnivore's clawed hand is blocked and deflected by Jayden's spin sword.

"You guys take the Moogers" he directs the others. "I've got this."

He drives the blade across Furrnivore's hand, making him withdraw the hand.

"You? But you were scared of me!"

"I was once. But I grew up"

"So much for the advantage over the Red Ranger" Dayu remarks to Octaroo.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time" Octaroo responds. "Ooh, ah, ooh, let's get out of here. Moogers, attack."

They disappear and the others run in and attack the Moogers. They attach their coloured power discs to their spin sword, turning them into different weapons. Kevin blasts Moogers with his Hydro Bow. Emily takes out several of them with a throw of her Earth Slicer. Mia uses her Sky Fan to blow wind at them, sending them sailing to the ground. Mike is attacking them one by one with his Forest Spear as Ghest fights hand to hand next to him.

"Hey Ghest, catch!"

Mike tosses him the orange Beetle disc.

"Thanks" he says back. "I like the colour. How does it work?"

"I know you don't have a weapon you carry, but maybe you can attach it to your glove" Mike tells him.

Ghest gives it a try, fitting the disk over a groove at the back of the golden glove on his right hand.

"Let's see how she handles."

He turns around and aims his hand at some approaching Moogers. As he prepares to blast, the spikes at the side of the glove position themselves forward toward a different target. He fires a heat blast, and it takes off in four different directions from the center of his hand and blasts Moogers in four different directions.

"Nice."

The Furrnivore lunges at Jayden with his claws. When he blocks one hand with his sword, he uses both hands to grab the blade and pull it out of Jayden's hands. He tries to slash him, but Jayden ducks his arms. He tries to kick the Furrnivore's legs and trip him, but they're too thick for it. Jayden starts punching his midsection, but with little to no effect, the Furrnivore grabs him and lifts him off of his feet. Suddenly, Furrnivore gets repeatedly hit by a super-fast blur of blade strikes. It's Antonio, morphed as the Gold Samurai Ranger, using his Barracuda Blades.

"How you doing, buddy?" Antonio asks.

"I'm great now."

They kick Furrnivore's chest and push him backwards. He prepares to resume his attack until parts of his body begin to turn grey and stone-like. This is something that happens to most Nighlok monsters, their bodies dry out the more time they spend on Earth and they need to return to the Sanzu River.

"First I drink, then I return to crush you!" The Furrnivore shouts.

He runs away back in the direction of the gap portal he entered this world through.

"He's getting away", Ghest points out. "I'll get him."

He takes off before the rangers can stop him. A gap portal is only the size of a small crack, but it's how the Nighloks travel to and from Earth and the Netherworld. He passes through it. Ghest flies through the same portal. No human can survive in the Netherworld, but Ghest is no ordinary human. He looks out at his new surroundings. The dark red sky above the crashing waves of red lava-like water of the wide Sanzu River.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."


	4. Chapter 4

Turning himself around while hovering in mid-air, Ghest tries to come to terms with the seeing the Sanzu River of the Netherworld. It is a sight that very few humans on Earth have been able to witness, at least not without giving up some portion of their humanity in the process. To him, the dark skies and red sea bring to mind realms of ancient literature that speak of a bleak world used as a final resting place for fallen warriors to spend eternity.

"No" Ghest reminds himself. "I came here through a portal, like I have to strange places before, and I'll come out of it through a portal too. I will not be staying here any longer than I need to flush out that burly beast so the rangers can finish him off."

He sees the Nighlok villains' ship sailing the river.

"And if I were part of some evil big-shot team, the only boat on a wide river is probably where I'd be found."

He flies in the direction of the ship.

Above this place, at the Shiba House, the Samurai Rangers try to come up with a solution to their new ally's predicament.

"A human can't survive in the Netherworld without being turned into a Nighlok" Kevin says to the others. "That's what Deker told us."

"But Fries isn't an ordinary human" Jayden reminds him. "He could have survived travelling there, but he'll be surrounded by Moogers and Monsters."

"We have to do something", says Mia.

"The guy can fly" Mike points out "and teleport. He'll be able to escape. Plus he still has my Beetle disc.

"Mike is right" Jayden agrees. "With his power, he'll be able to defend himself in there."

"If he does escape, how will we find him?" asks Emily.

"Good question. He won't know where to find us", adds Mike.

Mentor Ji speaks up. "If he leaves the Netherworld through another gap portal, our gap sensor will alert us.

"But the sensor won't distinguish Ghest from a Nighlok" Kevin warns the others. "We won't be able to tell whether or not we're walking into a fight. And if that hairy monster comes back, we'll be too busy to respond to another alarm.

As leader, Jayden makes his decision.

"It's our only option right now. We have to wait for the sensor alarm, and respond accordingly."

"You know what we should do, guys?" Antonio says to the other rangers. "When we find Ghest, we should pretend that time works differently in the Nighlok's dimension. We'll be all like 'we didn't think you survived in there' and then he'll say 'why not? It hasn't been that long' and then we say to him "you were in there three years!' and watch him freak out!"

The others don't seem to share Antonio's sense of humour about the situation.

"Now I'm hoping he really won't have to spend years in that awful place" Mia says.

Back on the Sanzu River, the villains are conspiring.

"I can't believe the Red Ranger overcame his childhood fear of the Furrnivore", Octaroo whines as he paces back and forth in the main cabin aboard the ship.

"I knew it wouldn't work from the start", taunts Dayu. "Next time, we'll send the animal to create fear in those pitiful humans instead.

Octaroo agrees. "When you're right, you're right. He's a big snarling beast, and strong enough to take the rangers apart."

Suddenly some balls of yellow fluff with faces drop from the cabin roof. These strange creatures are called Furry Warts, and they serve no other purpose other than to annoy people with their high-pitched voices.

"Snarling beast! Snarling beast! Snarling beast! Snarling beast!"

"Oh stop repeating me all the time, you pests!" shouts Octaroo as he tries to swat them away with his staff.

The Furrnivore rushes in.

"Look out window! It is phony ranger! Incoming!"

Before they can see it for themselves, Ghest flies right inside and tackles the monster.

"Moogers, get in here!" calls Octaroo.

A fleet of Moogers rush in through the doorway to the ship's lower levels and start grabbing a hold of Ghest. Octaroo exits the way they came in.

"Dayu, are you coming? Let them have him."

"I'm coming, squidbreath, just let me-"

Dayu pauses when she senses a familiar presence nearby. She gazes out the window to the land.

"Deker?"

She snaps out of it and teleports away to join Octaroo. Ghest fires a narrow heat blast towards the doorway, dividing the Moogers to the ship walls and flattening any of them directly in it's way.

"Spikes of Fury!" Ghest shouts to once again enlarge the golden blades on his gloves.

The Furry Warts giggle with amusement.

"Spikes of Fury! Spikes of Fury! Spikes of Fury! Spikes of Fury!"

"Huh?" Ghest wonders aloud. "What do these little fluffballs want?"

Some Moogers creep up on his right. He fires another blast and they fall down, knocking each other like dominoes on the way. A couple more try to rush him, but he dodges their attack and uses their own momentum to push them into the Furrnivore. The Furrnivore picks them up with his massive paws and tosses them back at Ghest, who lightly slashes them away with his blades.

"You make grave error to come here" the Furrnivore sternly warns Ghest. "Nighlok have home-ship advantage!"

"Stuff it, Boris. Let's go."

Furrnivore begins the charge. Ghest gets his blades into position for a slash attack, but the monster stops short of his goal and unexpectedly takes hold of Ghest's hands. Ghest tries to pry them out by twisting and moving his body around. He succeeds, but Furrnivore still has a tight grip on the blades themselves. His hands are too tough to be bothered by the blades' sharpness. He raises his arms and lifts Ghest up from the floor.

"You give me a run for my money in the strength department" Ghest tells him "but I've got other tricks."

Ghest uses his remaining energy to lift Furrnivore off of the floor in mid-air. When the creature gets a look of surprise, Ghest uses his opening to retract the blades and blast him out of the ships window. He lands in the river below. Ghest follows, but turns one more time to the jabbering Warts.

"You guys are more annoying than Doggy Worksmanship", he tells them, not caring if anyone understands the reference.

As Ghest flies off the Furry Warts are happily repeating the name he spoke, but one of them has apparently has something else to say.

"I've always wanted to be at one with nature."

Ghest is now hovering over the area of the Sanzu River that the Furrnivore fell into. Water from the river heals the Nighlok monsters and makes them stronger. Had Ghest known that, he wouldn't have knocked one into the river itself. It's too late now, though.

The Furrnivore leaps from the river like a rocket. Ghest flies right up to him, and is grabbed by a meaty paw. With new strength from the Sanzu water surging through his body, the creature lets go and punches Ghest hard in the face. The resulting force sends him hurtling away as the Furrnivore's laughter still echoes in the air. Ghest crash-lands on the shore next to the river, but he isn't alone. More Moogers have turned up. Passed out from the punch and the impact of the landing, Ghest simply lies on the ground as they approach.

Suddenly, a large white individual instantly appears between Ghest and the Moogers. This man turns toward them, glaring with his red-coloured skull shaped face. It is Deker, appearing in Nighlok form. Using his katana weapon, Deker strikes down and defeats each of the Moogers, for although they are both Nighlok, Deker's allegiances are only to himself. The red blade of his katana glows brightly.

"Yes, Uramasa" Deker responds, using his sword's proper name "It will soon be time for battle, but first let us leave this place. As with the Red Ranger, I shall allow my new opponent to rest and heal. Since being turned from a human into a Nighlok Deker has shared a unique bond with Uramasa that has allowed him to communicate with it and hear it speak to him.

Back at the Shiba House, the Gap Sensor alarm goes off. The rangers and Mentor Ji surround the living room table. Mentor touches the surface of the table to reveal a holographic map of the city that pinpoints where the gap opened.

"Back to the park. Let's check it out, guys" Jayden directs. "Wait, look."

"A second gap", Kevin notices. "It's coming from the abandoned construction site."

"At least one of them is an attack. Kevin, take Mia and Antonio to the park, Emily and Mike, come with me to the construction site." Jayden commands.

The rangers leave, not yet knowing that Jayden's team is heading towards Ghest and Deker, while the others will soon be battling the Furrnivore, stronger than ever due to his dip in the Sanzu River. Sitting up against a stone wall not wearing his costume, Fries Mahoghan starts to wake up. He blinks his eyes, and regains focus just in time to see Deker coming right at him with Uramasa. He let's out a surprised yelp, and quickly rolls away to avoid the impact. Deker is now in human form.

"Excellent" Deker says. "I have waited for you to awaken, and my attempt to strike you has started pumping your adrenaline throughout your body."

"Where am I now? Who are you?" asks Fries.

"I am Deker, a Nighlok born human. An unknown, a stranger, a lone warrior, much like your. I believe you were brought to this world to help fulfill my destiny."

"I really doubt that, Dexter" Fries responds. "I'm not a power ranger, and it seems like all I do is make a mess when I try to help them. What makes you think I can help you?"

"I'll explain in the simplest of terms: You, like the rangers, are a champion of the forces of good. I, though detached from my own kind, have no moralistic human soul. Enter into a duel with me, to the death, so that my cursed state would be removed, one way or another, or let innocents suffer my wrath. The Red Ranger nearly succeeded in this, damaging my sword Uramasa. With Uramasa now fixed, I have reconsidered my decision to challenge him."

"So you picked me? I guess I should be flattered."

"I have observed you since you arrived here. You say you have noble intentions, prove it by dueling me. Do it, and you can return to your home."

"Look, I'm sure you're good with that sword of yours, but are you sure you've thought this through? Not to sound like a show-off here, but you don't look all that scary."

Deker turns into his Nighlok form. "Does this help?"

Fries summons his suit and punches him in the face. "That does help."


	5. Chapter 5

Deker quickly picks himself up off the ground after Ghest's punch. On his face is a slight grin, relishing the thrill of impending competition while keeping his usual grim demeanor. He extends Uramasa's blade forward in a pointed line in front of his own face, aimed at Ghests.

"Use your costume to produce a sword" Deker tells him.

"Do I have to?" Ghest postulates. "I don't traditionally fight with swords, and something tells me that you're very "close" with yours."

Deker's facial features shift with irritation. "An honorable duel requires a sword. You may produce a blade to fight with, or attempt to use the rangers' Beetle disc to create a stronger construct."

Ghest answers back. "Yeah, I know how my own powers work, that isn't the issue here. I'm not trained in being a Samurai, pirate, musketeer, fencer or anything else that involves using a sword. I'd hardly call this duel honorable when you have a major edge over me."

"I always have the edge. I am a warrior", the man of few words responds with.

Ghest pauses for a few seconds to consider his options.

"Here's what we'll do", he announces. "We'll start with a sword fight, and you have four minutes to defeat me. After those four minutes, we switch to anything goes. You can still use your sword, but I can fight back however I want. What do you say to that?"

Deker ponders the offer. "I will agree to those rules on two conditions. First, if no clear winner is decided within the following four minutes, we return to swords."

"Okay, we'll keep alternating every four minutes", agrees Ghest. "What's the second condition?"

"You cannot use your power of flight to aid you in battle or escape."

"Done."

Ghest considers Deker's advice about using the Beetle disc to form a sword. He removes it from his glove and concentrates his suit's shape-shifting capabilities to form a weapon resembling one of the rangers' spin-swords. He attaches the disc to the handle.

The battle is on. Ghest decides to strike first, swinging his sword in one hand against his opponent. Uramasa deflects the early blows. Ghest tries to circle Deker, hoping to hit him from different sides, however all the attempts are blocked by Deker as he stands his ground.

"You should always use both hands to grip the handle" Deker advises Ghest. "And you should alter your stance defensively to avoid arm fatigue."

"You remember that you're my opponent, right?" he answers back.

"Even so, I will prove myself the better warrior."

"Just checking, but I wish the villains from my world could be more like you. They don't even hold doors open for me."

Strange as it seems to be getting advice from an enemy, Ghest decides to take it seriously. Deker becomes the aggressor and starts to repeatedly slash Ghest's sword. Ghest protects himself, but is starting to tire out. His sword is an extension of his own power controlled by force of will, and yet, Uramasa's blade feels like a sledgehammer every time it makes an impact. Ghest watches how Deker handles his sword. Rather than move erratically, he seems to keep close to a basic step movement. Forward, backward, left and right, as if inside a small circle. Ghest tries to aim for Deker's stomach. He simply blocks it with Uramasa. Deker's blows so far have all been against Ghest's sword, not his body. That must be part of his strategy, Ghest realizes. Deker's reflexes are so quick that to try to hit one of his limbs would be a waste of time. He must keep fighting head on until the first four minutes are up.

Outside of the construction site, the Red, Green and Yellow Samurai rangers are on their way. They have the coordinates of the portal Ghest and Deker arrived in from the Netherworld, and have learned from their teammates that the second gap portal in the park signaled the reappearance of the Furrnivore monster. They are battling him right now as Jayden and the others rush to meet Ghest before rejoining them. As they make their way inside, a group of Moogers appear and attempt to battle them. Not surprising, as this construction site was once the location of a large pool of Sanzu River water until the rangers intervened.

The three heroes take out their morphers and call out Go Go Samurai to become rangers. Mike and Emily immediately pull out their spin-swords and do battle with the Moogers, as Jayden uses his morpher again. He draws out a special Kanji symbol, and sends it on ahead of them to find Ghest to as a sort of signal to find him if he's out there, and we know he is. Next Jayden takes the Black Box in his hand and attaches it to the end of his sword to summon Super Samurai mode. A white sleeveless coat appearing over him, he uses the enhanced power to fight the Moogers off as quickly as possible.

As for Ghest and Deker, the first four minutes have passed and Ghest is free to use his other powers and abilities in battle. As Deker continues to use his sword, Ghest has placed his aside and is using his heat blasts. Deker tries his best to defend himself, but the blasts are too wide and coming in too fast. The low blasts cause the dust to rise from the ground. When the dust clears, Ghest is no longer in front of Deker. Suddenly from behind, Ghest leaps over Deker's head and grabs Uramasa before he can prepare for it.

"You agreed no flying" Deker reminds him.

"Yes, I did" Ghest concedes, "but that was a jump."

He sticks Uramasa's blade in the ground, letting it stand in place.

"For once in your life, fight without your sword."

Ghest rushes him again, but Deker catches his hands and tries to twist his arms. With his deceptive strength, Deker throws Ghest aside and breaks his grip to hit him across the chest. Ghest fires some blasts, but Deker waves them off with his hands. Maybe convincing him to lose the sword wasn't the best idea after all, Ghest thinks to himself, but this isn't over yet. Ghest goes low and tackles him at the waist, sending him to the ground. Deker flips Ghest over behind him, but he lands on his feet and turns right around to strike Deker with his fist. Deker dodges and rolls back to his feet.

"My strength appears to be equal to yours" Deker explains "and I can withstand your blasts with ease. Your strategy has not worked in your favour."

"Oh yeah? Well maybe this will."

He pokes Deker in the eyes with his fingers. Deker recoils instantly and covers his eyes with his own hands.

"What kind of move is that?"

"The kind that falls under 'anything goes'."

He punches Deker in the stomach, and then in the arm and torso. As he staggers backward, Ghest lets a flurry of blasts fly, taking Deker to his knee.

Suddenly, a strange feeling passes through Ghest that takes his attention away from the battle. The symbol signal that Jayden sent has gone right into Ghest's heart to make its intended effect. The Red Ranger had previously used this symbol to help a young boy the team saved from a Nighlok monster, by allowing him to communicate with his absent father fighting overseas in the military. Now that the symbol has found Ghest, it will briefly allow him to see the person his heart wants to see the most. The spirit of a beautiful woman now appears before him, the woman seen earlier as his armoured crime-fighting partner Angel.

"Fries?"

"Laura! It's so good to see your face. How is this possible?"

"I don't know, but I knew you would be okay. Sidewinder and Bonecrusher are back in custody after the robbery."

"Great. I'm back in the Power Rangers world for another wacky adventure."

"Wait. Are you with that scientist women who kissed you?"

"You don't need to worry about her, I promise."

"All right. Just come back safely when you finish."

The image of Laura disappears, as it was never meant to last very long. Unfortunately, it has succeeded in distracting Ghest from Deker, who slashes Ghest in the back with Uramasa.

"You have allowed the second four minute period to elapse" Deker declares. "Pick up your sword or perish."

Ghest struggles to crawl towards his sword. Deker presses his foot down on Ghest's extended arm, preventing him from reaching it. Deker picks up the sword himself, tosses it into the air and strikes it with Uramasa. Ghest's sword turns back into the harmless Beetle disc and falls to the ground. He kicks it further away as he steps off of Ghest's arm. The three rangers arrive. Mike picks up the disc off the ground.

"Keep your distance, rangers!" Deker warns them. They stand back a few feet.

He turns back to Ghest. "You have brought about your own end. With no weapon of your own, I will destroy you."

"What about honor and all that?" Ghest asks breathlessly.

"What do you know of honor?" Deker growls, exposing his anger. "You poked my eyes! I will end your life and break my curse. Farewell."

He brings his blade down to deliver a final blow.

"Leave him alone!" screams Emily, the yellow ranger. She takes her morpher and draws a quick symbol that summons several small rocks to repel Deker from Ghest. Mike quickly uses symbol power to summon vines to pull Ghest out of Deker's path. He gets back on his feet, and Jayden tosses him another disc that is coloured in a different shade of red. He catches it and attaches it to his glove.

"Are you going to rely on allies to defend you, like the red ranger?" Deker asks.

"Check the time. Anything. Goes." Ghest repeats.

Ghest activates the disc's power. It is the Sharkzord disc, and he is soon enveloped in a sleeveless red coat similar to Jayden in Super Mode. In his hand is the Shark Sabre, with an impressive elongated blade.

"Oh, this is perfect" Ghest remarks.

Deker reacts with aggression. Ghest doesn't even need to move, the blade of the Shark Sabre extends and moves on it's own. As Deker tries to slice it with his own sword, it instinctively avoids the attack while circling around Deker finding vulnerable spots to strike him itself. Deker cannot avoid such a force, and is stabbed repeatedly until he is repelled to the ground.

"We're so glad you're safe", Emily tells Ghest as she gives him a hug.

"I'm better than safe now. You guys got her just in time."

"I hope you're still good to go" Jayden says. "Furrnivore's in the park."

"Well, I guess this guy won't be giving us anymore-", Ghest turns toward Deker as he speaks, only to find he has disappeared. "Huh, he's gone. Oh well, he'll think twice before picking a fight with me."

"We'd better get going" Mike interrupts. "Kevin and the others are having their hands full."

"Um, about that."

As they leave the area, Ghest explains to the others his mistake of knocking the Furrnivore into the river back in the Netherworld.


End file.
